


Loser Leo, Stupid Scorpio

by kanao



Category: Produce 101 (TV), UNIQ (Band), UP10TION, X1 (Korea Band)
Genre: Angst, Astronomy, Bathtubs, Childhood Friends, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Leo - Freeform, M/M, Mutual Pining, Scorpio, Stars, actor seungyoun, journalist wooseok, literature!, lots of shakespeare, no wooseok is not juliet, romeo and juliet - Freeform, seungyoun as romeo, um angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:13:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22362394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kanao/pseuds/kanao
Summary: childhood friends with feelings they can’t quite pitpoint up till a decade later, all to be finally reduced to a mere thirty days.
Relationships: Cho Seungyeon | Seungyoun/Kim Wooseok | Wooshin
Comments: 15
Kudos: 58





	Loser Leo, Stupid Scorpio

**Author's Note:**

> MY FIRST AU TO BE MORE THAN 5K WORDS CAN I GET A HOLLER  
> i hope yall will like this as much as i reaaaallyyy enjoyed writing this mwahmwah

Cho Seungyoun was born, not beneath a starry sky, but in Seoul National University Bundang Hospital — a modern day structure in the heart of the city that had as many as ten pubs, five banks, one community centre where the oldest age demographic would gather, and bitterly resented hot water deficits that were experienced by the vast majority in frosty December.

The hospital was surrounded by beds of bright tulips and rectangles of thirsting lawn, and at the moment of little Seungyoun’s birth, the sky above its tin roof was considerably clear for a Northern Hemisphere Autumn in its preparation for the descent into winter.

And yet the stars  _ were _ there. Out beyond the cooler clouds of the troposphere, beyond the stratosphere’s blanket of ozone, beyond the mesosphere and thermosphere, the ionosphere and the exosphere, and finally the magnetosphere, were the  _ stars _ .

Millions of them, patterning the blackness and orbiting themselves into the precise configuration that would forever be mapped unto the soul of Cho Seungyoun — bearer of the horoscope Leo.

Mr and Mrs Cho looked over their son and like most parents, began tracing back various sources to his cheeks, forehead, fingers and toes. They found an echo of Mrs Cho’s sister’s in the wide setting of their baby’s eyes, and a hint of Mr Cho’s mother in his full and expressive lips.

Nowhere, however, did they find, or even think to look for, the fingerprints of Regulus, the brightest star in the Leo constellation, which meant ‘prince’ or ‘little king’. Or the more diffuse touch of the Denebola star, or indeed any of the other heavenly bodies that comprised the supposedly messiest constellation of Leo, within whose auspices the sun was housed at the time of their baby’s birth.

An astrologer, looking at the pinpricks of destiny as laid out in little Seungyoun’s natal chart, might on the day of the birth have been able to tell you that this child would grow up to be original to the point of slightly eccentric, creative and caring, but with a competitive streak so wide that his siblings would rather eat their grandma’s ‘beloved’ cabbage soup than play monopoly with him. He would love (a tad bit  _ too  _ much) costume parties and have a habit of bringing home any starving dog or flea-ridden cat that crossed his path.

This same astrologer might have allowed themselves a fond, rather  _ relatable  _ smile as they foretold that Seungyoun, from his mid/teens onwards, would become a true believer when it came to the stars. Sdungyoun wouldnlike the fsct that he was born as a Leo — a sign he would associate with innovation and creativity, as well as summertime, music festivals and hot young hippies who smelled of marijuana and perhaps some sex.

On the day of Seungyoun’s birth, however, there was no astrologer at hand, and the only person who did make an astrological prediction about baby Seungyoun at that time was Mrs Cho’s friend Mrs Kim.

“A little Leo, hm?” she said, her eyes misting amidst her own oblivion. “Don’t expect him to be like either of you, will you now? Leos are a whole different breed. Aren’t you, little one?”

“Well, he’d better like sport,” Mrs Cho said lightly. “His dad’s already gotten him a softball bat.”

“Which is why he’d probably choose a more artistic route. Maybe a music producer, or an artist, maybe a dancer? Oh god, perhaps an  _ actor.  _ Won’t you, my little gem?”

By the time Mrs Kim had stepped out of the hospital, dusk had fallen, the autumn breeze more prominent now, which brought her coat to be snuggled comfortably across her shoulders. She slipped in behind the wheel of her car and watched the few eager stars bursting through the deepening dark. She watched those stars for a good long while. She didn’t say or do anything; she just  _ watched.  _

⁂

“What are you up to?” The male figure plopped itself on Mrs Kim’s side, taking a few seconds to adjust as well before letting the body weight and gravity do their work.

“Up to?” she said. “Up to? I… am looking at the stars.”

Mr Kim places a soft hand on the even softer clothed belly of his spouse, which held the life of their firstborn who was supposedly due in a couple month’s time.

He was to be born in the early hours of an October morning under the sign of the early days of Scorpio. He would arrive, petite and perfectly formed, with his skull capped in a finer version of the light brown hair that would eventually curl around the sharp contours of his face. His eyes would be hazel, his eyes would be pointed, and his lips would resemble his mother’s, while his nose bridge would that of his father’s.

An astrologer might have predicted that this baby would grow up to be a straight shooter; playful, but also something of a perfectionist. He would love words, appear at age nine on a kids’ TV spelling contest (which he would eventually win), and his memory would be as flawless as a gleaming, stainless steel filing cabinet.

It might also have been accurately foretold, with a sorrowful shake of the astrologer’s head, that this child would grow up to have scant regard for the stars. To be frank, he would consider horoscopes to be a crock of implausible bullshit.

“Wooseok,” Mrs Kim murmured, mostly to herself.

“Hm?” replied her significant other.

“Woo-Seok,” Mrs Kim said, more distinctively this time. “Do you like it?”

“Who’s Wooseok?” Mr Kim asked, perplexed.

_ You’ll see,  _ Mrs Kim thought,  _ You’ll see. _

⁂

Time passed. Moons orbited planets. Planets did laps around the brightest of stars that were pelted around the galaxy. And those galaxies swirled. Then one day, as if by magic, there he was: twenty four year old Kim Wooseok, making his way out of The Seoul Star headquarters with bated breath and a drip of sweat making its way down his forehead.

It had been a busy day thus far — Wooseok doesn’t remember most of it, but he does remember that after dropping the coffee on his fellow colleague, Lee Hangyul’s, shirt, he wasn’t going to have a good series of events following it. And it was true. He was forced to drop Hangyul’s dog at the groomer’s (to make up for the mistake he had made, he presumed), and then fax a bunch of columns that he wasn’t even in charge of.

Kim Wooseok’s job position on paper was ‘Copy-Runner of  _ The Seoul Star _ ’, although the editor — who was prone to verbal flourishes that in no way resembled the incisive brevity of his journalism — liked to refer to him as ‘our beloved, darling cadet-in-waiting.’ In layman terms, it just meant that Wooseok was waiting a tad bit too long for that promotion of his.

The day was more or less over. Wooseok stood poised, at the very edge of the pavement, and considered. Was there time? The markets didn’t close until seven. He checked his watch. He concluded: there was time. 

He glanced inside the basket-weave bag that he carried in the crook of his arm, and was happy to see that his black Sharpie pen was indeed there, lying in wait, in its own special pocket. He lowered his sunglasses from the top of his head and approached.

He made his way past the florist’s, past the butcher’s and the baker’s, towards the fruits and vegetable corner. He sidled up to a timber crate full of watermelons, lifted his sunglasses and looked over to the display of Hass avocados. And there it was, perched on a plastic stalk above the fruits. The offending sign.

_ Advocados.  _

Would the woman  _ never  _ learn? Here was a fruit seller who was clearly competent. No, she was more than just competent — she could stack pomegranates so that they looked like the crown jewels of some far-flung, exotic nation. It made no sense that he would stubbornly and consistently continue to misspell avocados. And yet he did.

Week in and out, Wooseok corrected her error, and the grocer responded by throwing away the amended signs and replacing them with yet another for  _ advo _ -bloody- _ cados.  _ It was infuriating. But Wooseok was determined not to be beaten. 

He waited until the assistant behind the counter was distracted, then whipped out his Sharpie. Swiftly, he struck out the extraneous ‘D’.  _ Avocados.  _ (Ah yes. This was good.)

Satisfied that the world was now restored to rightness, Wooseok spun around, intending to make a dash for the exit. But he had only taken a few paces when he ran into a giant figure. 

It was hard to tell what kind of figure it was, exactly, and it said, ‘Should you be doing that?’

Wooseok was just about to get argumentative, when he recognised the face.

“Cho Seungyoun?” Wooseok said, incredulous.

“Holy  _ fucking  _ shit. Wooseok?”

“Oh my god, you haven’t even changed one bit,” Wooseok gasped, stunned and smiling.

Seungyoun made a doubtful face and glanced down at his fish suit. “Thanks, I guess.” He looked back at Wooseok before the grin that Wooseok would remember for decades to come began to spread across his face. “It’s been years, Wooseok.”

“It has — nine? Ten?” Wooseok offered, as if he were guessing. Seungyoun scoffed, “It couldn’t have been that long, for sure.”

But it was. It was ten years, one month, and three weeks. And Wooseok knew this, precisely. And so did Seungyoun.

⁂

As toddlers, in the sandpit at the family day care, Seungyoun and Wooseok had shared both their packets of Tiny Teddies and the traumatic experience of being dethroned by younger siblings together.

By the time Wooseok and Seungyoun graduated to kindergarten, Seungyoun had been going through a monkey phase where he had refused to go to school. So Wooseok would spend his mornings sitting loyally beside him on the mat and follow him to the playground — needless to say, wherever Seungyoun went, Wooseok did too. And wherever Wooseok went, Seungyoun did too. They were truly  _ that _ inseparable pair.

But the only thing that Wooseok for some rhyme or reason, the only thing Wooseok absolutely  _ detested  _ that Seungyoun, on the contrary,  _ loved,  _ was the stars. From astrology to stargazing, Seungyoun trusted the stars to guide his every path, and Wooseok thought it was the dumbest fucking thing he had ever known.

But then it happened. Seungyoun and Wooseok were twelve. The Cho family decided to move out of the city, to a quieter, less bustling part of Korea. The daily phone calls that Seungyoun and Wooseok promised to make to each other slowly reduced to weekly ones, and then twice a month, and then it became six months without a single call made.

For Seungyoun’s sixteenth birthday, however, the Cho family had invited the Kim family over for dinner by the beach near their residence, and the latter could not be more excited to reunite with their best friends.

For Wooseok and Seungyoun, however, it had been a long three years since they had seen each other. Wooseok still identified the mischief in Seungyoun’s eyes, and Wooseok’s feature was… prettier? (Seungyoun wasn’t really sure what else of a word he could use to describe delicate and perfectly structured features).

The dinner was awkward as  _ hell _ — not for the parents — but for the both of them. After the question of “How was school?” the conversation called it quits. Seungyoun was the first to drop the pin in the silence, with a soft, “Do you want to take a walk outside?” Wooseok smiled and nodded to that, and they both took some spare cash from their parents before making their way outside to hear the sound of the smooth waves making their way inland routinely for the night.

Seungyoun had a fake ID. Wooseok was impressed with the way he casually showed the cashier the ID despite the suspicious stare earned by the latter, but they both still walked out of the shop with the liquor in Seungyoun’s hand.

They both sit on the rocks facing the sea, the cool ocean breeze tickling their faces while the moonlight illuminated through the starry sky.

They began to talk, and a few drinks later, they were laughing hysterically and throwing seashells like each other — just like old times. 

And then the silence came. The laughter had died, but the smiles were still on. But this time, they were looking right at each other. Heartbeats a little faster, courage a little greater, and urges a little stronger.

And then Wooseok does it. First. He squeezes his eyes shut and manages himself to push forward, his lips connecting with Seungyoun’s for a small peck. He pulls away quickly, and opens his eyes to meet the widened ones of Seungyoun’s.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know why I did that,” Wooseok begins to feel the panic rush through him, and he puts his hand on the rock to stand up, but Seungyoun grabs his face with his hand and presses their lips together once more.

It was Wooseok and Seungyoun’s first kiss, and needless to say, it was sloppy and messy as  _ fuck.  _ They both didn’t know how tongues and mouths held hands to make a perfect kiss, but it was okay. 

Everytime when one tried to break off the kiss, the other only seemed hungry for more. They couldn’t find the perfect balance. They didn’t know where to put their hands and arms. 

But when they pulled away, Wooseok was on top of Seungyoun, his hands desperately locked in Seungyoun’s hair, and Seungyoun’s was around Wooseok’s small waist. They didn’t know what had just happened, but they were in it together. It was going to be okay if they were in it together… right?

The next morning, Seungyoun wants to scream when he looks at himself in the mirror. He smells of disgusting liquor, and his lips are swollen as hell, the red refusing to leave from the sides of his mouth.

But most importantly, Seungyoun is  _ afraid _ . He doesn’t know what to do. How was he going to face Wooseok after this? What were they? They used to be ‘best friends’, but now they were ‘best friends who had just fucking made out with each other like it was nothing’. 

Seungyoun didn’t want to face Wooseok. So he hides under his covers despite his mother’s efforts to drag him down to say goodbye to the Kim family before they go back. Seungyoun refuses, and the family leaves disappointed, thinking that Wooseok and Seungyoun must have had a big fight last night.

If only they knew.

⁂

Seungyoun and Wooseok are sitting in the same restaurant they had celebrated Seungyoun’s birthday in ten years ago.

“The fish and chips are still the same,” Wooseok scoffs, “bland as fuck.”

Seungyoun can’t help but smile, but something is wrong somewhere. “Wooseok,” he says, putting down his fork, “I need to tell you something.”

Wooseok face begins to pale, and he already knows it’s going to be something bad, or unexpected. He begins forming up all the possibilities — “I’m gay” (but Wooseok already knows that), “I’m moving out of the country” (this isn’t too bad, he thinks), “I hope we never meet again after this” (this is the worst-case scenario) —

“I’m only going to stay here for another month or so.” He smiles after that, and Wooseok processes it for awhile before nodding his head.  _ Oh.  _ “You’re moving somewhere?” 

Seungyoun takes awhile — a little longer than usual — to think, before he shrugs his shoulders. “Yea… I guess I am.” 

Wooseok gets the sensing Seungyoun doesn’t really want to talk about it for some reason, so he clears his throat, in hopes to change the subject. But then Seungyoun continues.

“Since I only have a month left, and the fact that I bumped into you…” Seungyoun pauses for a second to string his thoughts into a coherent finish, “I want to spend my last few days here with you, Wooseok. Just take it with a pinch of fate, salt… and maybe the stars.”   
  


Wooseok just  _ had  _ to scoff. It was the  _ bloody  _ stars again. “You’re not over that?” Wooseok asks, and Seungyoun rolls his eyes before acting hurt. “And you’re still not over your hatred for it?”

Wooseok shakes his head, and Seungyoun chuckles lightly. “Today my co-star said, ‘The pang of nostalgia is going to hit differently today.’ You know what that means right?” Wooseok raises an eyebrow, as if he was going to believe it. He stays silent, and Seungyoun answers for him.

“I bumped into you! You’re my pang of nostalgia that just hits  _ different, _ ” Seungyoun smiles proudly at how his belief had been backed up by ‘concrete evidence’ to him.

Wooseok speaks up, “was this just a one-time thing? Or do your stars really —”

“— they actually do. I let my stars decide my day and how it’s going to be. It’s just me and my stars, baby,” Seungyoun holds up his glass of champagne and Wooseok giggles.

“So… spending your time with me, huh?” Wooseok asks, and Seungyoun nods eagerly. “Sure, I’ll do it.” 

Seungyoun claps his hands in delight. “I didn’t actually expect you to say yes! I actually have only one thing I want to do before I… leave, so maybe you can help me with it!” He chirps, as he whips out his phone.

“I was thinking of acting in this theatre production of Romeo and Juliet and acting as Romeo, so I applied for it, but I hope they get back to me soon…” his face falls, and Wooseok notices it.

“What’s wrong about that?” 

“I’ve always only acted in minor roles for theatre productions, so I don’t actually think they’ll accept me in. There’s probably someone out there who’s better than me.” 

Wooseok sees Seungyoun’s hand resting on the table, and he doesn’t even realise that his hand was reaching out and holding onto the other’s. Seungyoun looks at their hands in a second of shock, before his expression softens, and Wooseok speaks.

“You’re still the same Seungyoun I knew. Stop being so hard on yourself… you’re better than you think you are.” Wooseok gives Seungyoun’s hand a reassuring squeeze before the latter returns the small smile. Realising their hands were still resting against each other’s even following the silence after, Wooseok clears his throat and is about to move his hand away, but it is pulled back again by Seungyoun’s.

Wooseok turns to look at Seungyoun with a confused expression. “Just let me hold your hand for awhile, Wooseok…” Seungyoun whispers, looking down at his food, “just for awhile.”

⁂ 

“Where do you want me to drop you off?” Wooseok asks, and Seungyoun chuckles lightly. “I’m kind of hogging my friend’s house for the last two days since I came here, but I’m not even that close to him… and it’s kind of awkward....” Seungyoun confesses sheepishly, and Wooseok doesn’t let him finish.

“— you can stay over at my place for the time being,” Wooseok suggests, and Seungyoun’s eyes widen. “You really don’t have to —”

“— it’s fine, really. Just trust me on this one,” Wooseok grins, and Seungyoun returns it. “Didn’t  _ you _ mention that you wanted to spend time with me for the next month or so?” 

Seungyoun’s mouth drops. “You’re still the same cunning Wooseok I know. Stupid Scorpio.”

Wooseok scoffs, “says the one who still believes in the daily horoscope given by some dumb astrology app. Loser Leo.”

“So are you letting me stay at your place?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, but that still doesn’t change the fact that you’re a stupid Scorpio.”

“And you’re still a loser Leo.”

Time begins to tick. And the galaxies begin to orbit again. A never-ending cycle, without any compassion or sympathy for a boy with a timer in his body, and another boy who likes him so much, will never have a clue about it either.

It’s so unfair, because love doesn’t have the slightest suspicion of it, yet the stars _do_. 

⁂

-30, 2:37pm

**loser leo**

WOOSEOKKKKKKK

GUEHRUSHESS WHO GTGTIOHTT

TO PLAFYDSUYFYSDY ROMEO

FUCKING ROMEO 

LOVE IS A SMOKE RAISED WITH THE FUME OF SIGHS BEING PURGED A FIRE SPARKLING IN LOVERS’ EYES BEING VEXED A SEA NOURISHED LPVERS TEARS ROMEO

**stupid scorpio**

WHAT THE FUCK

SEUNGYOUN

YOU’RE ROMEO

I JUST KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO GET IT

**loser leo**

you’ll come right

to watch me

**stupid scorpio**

i’ll front row or nothing

i’m going to be there seungyoun

**loser leo**

maybe you’re not that stupid of a scorpio

sappy scorpio

**stupid scorpio**

that’s on you

because guess what

you’re still a loser leo

  
  


Wooseok is about to put back his phone and get back on editing the article Hangyul had clumsily written, when his phone lights up with a notification. It’s that dumb co-star app that Seungyoun had (forcefully) downloaded onto Wooseok’s phone, with Wooseok’s daily horoscope. Wooseok smiles.

_ Love conquers all.  _

⁂ 

-27, 2:37am

Wooseok is fast asleep on the left side of the room. On the right side, however, Seungyoun is unable to. He hears the clock stupidly ticking in the background. He’s trying to fall asleep by reciting his lines, but it isn’t working. It feels as if an elephant is sitting on top of his head. 

He gets up from the bed and his head whirls. He holds it with his hand and curses under his breath, squeezing his eyes shut. He grabs onto his phone and stumbles out of the room towards the kitchen counter, where he feels the cupboard with his hand and rummages his hand through the secret location, till he feels the familiar sense of the small bottle on the palm of his hand.

Eyes still shut, he pops two pills into his mouth, chugging down a glass of water he has no memory of filling up right after. The pounding gradually comes to a stop, and Seungyoun feels like he can breathe for the first time since he got out of the bed.

With breathing still slightly hitching, he unlocks his phone and curses when he sees his co-star staring at him (mockingly, he assumes).

_ It’s time to face the music.  _

⁂ 

-26, 8:07am

“You’re coming back home after your practice, right?” Wooseok asks, and Seungyoun shakes his head. “I’ve got to settle something every Friday evening. I’ll be home before 10 though,” he says, without looking up from his plate.

“Want to go for a walk when you’re back?” Wooseok suggests, and Seungyoun looks up, noticing the sparkle through the other boy’s glasses lens. A genuine smile spreads across his face. He wanted this. He wanted to spend time with Wooseok, but his head wants to tell him otherwise.  _ It’s just going to hurt him more afterwards. Why did you even choose to do this? Are you really a loser Leo, Cho Seungyoun?  _

“Sure, I’d love to.”

⁂

Seungyoun is about to cry. 

He keeps rereading his lines, but they don’t mean anything to him. He doesn’t feel the ‘punch factor’ that he felt a mere few days ago. It just doesn’t hit him anymore.

“Seungwoo,” he calls out softly, and the addressed turns around, his expression changing from one of joy to one of concern in a second. 

“Hey, Seungyoun, is everything okay?” Seungwoo quickly rushes over to him, touching his hand lightly. “Let’s sit down, you’re crying, Youn…” 

Seungyoun doesn’t even realise it. He knows he’s crying because he’s overwhelmed (as HELL), but his meltdowns will usually take place when he’s under his covers and the clock strikes at 3.

But here he is, crying in front of the whole  _ fucking  _ cast and crew, and Seungwoo apologises on his behalf before bringing Seungyoun out slowly into the dressing room, where they both sit.

Seungyoun drinks a few gulps of water before gripping the tissue in his hands even tighter. “Seungwoo… I don’t think I can do this.”

Seungwoo thinks for a second. “Why do you say that?”

And so Seungyoun tells him everything. How nothing he reads is actually sinking in, how he can’t recite everything word for word, how he progressively feels for anything less and less.

“Is anybody watching you on the day itself?” Seungwoo asks, and Seungyoun nods. “My childhood best friend ( ~~and kind of crush~~ ) is,” Seungyoun nods, a small smile at he sees Wooseok at the front row, clapping and cheering wildly for him.

“Don’t recite your lines to Juliet, Seungyoun. Recite your lines to  _ him _ ,” Seungwoo suggests, and Seungyoun’s eyes widen at how first Seungwoo could read him and his raw feelings. 

Seungwoo chuckles at Seungyoun’s shocked expression. “ O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet.” Seungwoo stands up and puts on Seungyoun’s best Romeo voice.

Seungyoun stands up too, a new kind of determination filling within him. “Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?”

⁂

-26, 8:07pm

“How much more time left?”

“About twenty-something, Seungyoun. I’m sorry.”

⁂ 

-26, 10:57pm

“What was your Co-star today?” Wooseok whispers and Seungyoun picks it up ever so slightly. He shifts his head to a more comfortable position as he looks above to the gas molecules that pattern the blanket of darkness.

He chuckles ever so lightly. “It’s time to face the music.” 

Wooseok turns to look at Seungyoun, who continues to look at the starry night sky. “Do you know what it means?”

Seungyoun nods. 

Wooseok’s eyebrows furrow, before he punches Seungyoun’s arm lightly, earning his gaze to shift from the sky to Wooseok.

“And you’re not going to tell me about it?” Wooseok pouts and Seungyoun laughs heartily this time. He mimics the expression on Wooseok’s face as he extends his hand and pinches his cheek. 

“Is someone asking for some preferential treatment?” Wooseok slaps his hand away, pretending to look mad at Seungyoun. 

“It’s nothing much… I was just doubting myself again during rehearsal,” Seungyoun looks back up at the sky, and Wooseok turns his eyes to him as he continues.

“I just don’t want to mess up…” Seungyoun presses his lips together, before turning back to Wooseok, “especially because you’re going to be there.”

Needless to say, Wooseok feels the familiar tug that his heartstrings do everytime Seungyoun does about anything. But this time, it was harder, and with a clearer realisation of what and why he was feeling whatever he was feeling. 

Wooseok quickly shifts his gaze back up to the sky, thanking every god out there for this to happen in the minimal light, or else the blush spreading across his cheeks will be in need of an explanation.

“What was yours?” Seungyoun asks. “Your co-star.”

This time, it was Wooseok’s turn to laugh. “Mine was apt. It said, ‘Trust your heart in everything that you do.’ At first, I was like, ‘fuck is this?’ and then as the day progressed, I kind of learnt what it meant. Maybe your stars shenanigans... they aren’t so bad.”

Seungyoun scoffs, “took you long enough.”

⁂ 

-20, 10:54am

**_SEOUL STARS!_ **

**hangyul**

HELLO BAD BITCHES

i have some news

we need a representative for this production of romeo and juliet happening downtown next friday

ANY VOLUNTEERS :D

**wooseok**

ME

I’LL DO IT

HANGYUL LET ME DO IT

**hangyul**

ok calm down

i’ll give it to you wooseok 

“Only when you tell me why you’re unusually enthusiastic for this,” he muses from behind Wooseok’s ear, and Wooseok instantly regrets sending the text way too fast.

“Myfriendisplayingromeo,” he mumbles, and Hangyul takes a seat opposite him, clearly unamused. “You know how much I hate mumbl —”

“My friend is playing Romeo okay? And he’s not just any friend. He’s my childhood best friend, and he’s staying with me for the time being and he’s leaving in a few days and I literally don’t know what to —”

“ — do about all the lovey-dovey feelings you have for him?” Hangyul finishes for him, and all Wooseok can do in response is to allow his mouth to hang. 

“It’s so obvious you like him,” Hangyul asserts, and Wooseok wants to bury his head and stop breathing altogether, but Hangyul doesn’t let him live — “I can’t believe  _ you,  _ out of  _ all  _ people, has a crush on someone.” 

Wooseok rolls his eyes as he testifies, “he’s the only person I’ve liked.”

Hangyul squeals in excitement. “Then you better go tell him soon! Be the Juliet to his Romeo,” he coos, and Wooseok groans before pushing him away by the face. 

But he gives Hangyul words a thought anyway.

⁂

-20, 10:54pm

Wooseok pauses his anime marathon when he hears the front door click. Seungyoun walks in, but his expression isn’t as per usual. It didn’t radiate that brightness, that  _ Seungyoun  _ vibe from it anymore. 

“Hey,” Wooseok calls out and walks towards him, and Seungyoun tries his best (as always) to muster up a smile. “Hello, Wooseok,” he mouths.

“Are you alright? We’re rehearsing lines together still, right?” Wooseok’s eyebrows stay knitted together as his voice shakes.

Seungyoun shakes his head, the small upward curve on his lips still managing to hang there. “Let’s do it tomorrow morning, Seokie. I’m sorry if I kept you waiting.”

Wooseok doesn’t even have the chance to respond to that, because before even both of them know it, Seungyoun makes his way past Wooseok and towards the room.

Wooseok’s phone buzzes. He pulls out and the frown is stagnant on his face. 

His co-star mockingly stares at him —  _ Maybe you can’t always be there, even for the people closest to you.  _

That night, after a long, long time, Seungyoun cries himself to sleep. But nobody hears him — not Wooseok, not anybody — nobody but the stars.

⁂

-19, 11:03am

“Her vestal livery is but sick and green, and none but fools do wear it,” recites Seungyoun, and as he delivered his line, he paces the length of Wooseok’s living room; ten strides in one direction, ten in the other. “Cast it off. It is my love; O, it is my lady! O, that she knew she were.”

“Nope,” Wooseok simply says, popping another Maltesers into his mouth, all while lying down comfortably on his couch, the script being held in his free hand. 

“What do you mean ‘nope’?”

“You got them the wrong way around. It should be, ‘It is my  _ lady;  _ O, it is my  _ love. _ ”

“Fuckety, fuck, fuck,” Seungyoun says, striding the room once more. “All right, again. It is my lady; O it is my love. It is my lady; O it is my love. Can I have a Malteser now?” 

“No,” Wooseok dismisses with a wave of his hand, “Chocolate must be earned, my friend. You’ll need to get through the monologue. Without a mistake. Twice.”

“Not unless I do this…” Seungyoun wiggles his fingers and Wooseok already knows what’s about to come. He squeals as Seungyoun’s hands make their way to Wooseok’s waists, his fingers moving in motion. Wooseok bursts into an outburst of giggles, and Seungyoun finds himself laughing along as well, snatching the bucket of Maltesers from Wooseok’s hands (when he was finally not busy reminiscing about how beautiful Wooseok’s laugh actually was to his ears).

As Wooseok’s giggles die down and Seungyoun pops his second chocolate ball into his mouth, he asks softly, “are you feeling better from yesterday?”

Seungyoun chews and thinks for awhile. “I am.” Wooseok nods his head, “that’s good.”

“Wooseok, I’m sorry if I’m like… the different Seungyoun you used to know,” Seungyoun finds his tone more hushed and vulnerable than he thought it would be. A silence follows after, and Seungyoun assumes Wooseok is waiting for some kind of explanation. But Wooseok continues for him.

“You haven’t changed one bit. You’re still the same Seungyoun that I know,” Wooseok says, “you’re still the same Seungyoun I found myself falling in love with without myself even knowing.”

The silence is different this time. Wooseok chuckles, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that —”

“ — no, it’s okay,” Seungyoun cuts him off. Wooseok turns and meets eyes with Seungyoun. “I don’t regret kissing you on August 5th ten years ago.”

Wooseok smiles. “I think I like you, loser Leo.”

“I think I like you even more, you stupid Scorpio.”

⁂

-12, 6:09pm

Wooseok always thinks that the running of thoughts and legs in slow motion were just a thing of the movies. It was just fucking hollywood.

But today, Wooseok can testify that it isn't. It feels  _ absolutely  _ real, and he wishes that it wasn’t.

From the second he hears that Hangyul had gotten into a car accident on the way to a conference and was rushed to the hospital, that’s when time began to tick slower. The agony that dragged him out of his seat and to rush all the way to the hospital, while heart heavy and threatening to be released from his chest.

Wooseok doesn’t know how to deal with death. And Hangyul… car accidents… it all triggers an awfully memory in Wooseok’s mind — with his parents particularly. Losing your two pillars of support and strength, and then getting up from your feet as if nothing has happened.

Wooseok just doesn’t want to go through it again. The hospitals, the beds, the flatlining of the monitors, the fucking  _ loneliness.  _

“Yohan,” Wooseok releases his first breath, the tears beginning to well in his eyes. “How is Hangyul?” 

Yohan nods his head, patting Wooseok’s back. “He’ll be fine, fortunately. It’s nothing serious.” 

Wooseok feels like he may just collapse of relief. “Thank god,” he says, but the tears are already flowing down his cheeks. 

“Wooseok, it’s fine,” Yohan notices the way they just don’t stop coming down from Wooseok’s eyes, “Hangyul is fine.” 

Wooseok nods. He hates looking so vulnerable in front of  _ anyone  _ for the matter, but he is just feeling… overwhelmed? Wooseok doesn’t know if it’s the right word. But he hates it. He wants to feel happy and thankful that nothing is wrong with Hangyul, but he can’t. He hates what’s happening.

“Yohan, I’m going to get something to drink,” he wipes his face and sighs. Yohan looks concerned, but Wooseok smiles to reassure him that he’s fine. Yohan nods.

Wooseok excuses himself and makes his way around the corner to the lift. He passes by one room after another, the atmosphere still feeling heavy on his shoulders.

And then he hears it. An oddly familiar voice coming from a distance, but not too far away. He raises an eyebrow and takes a few cautious steps back and turns towards the other direction. He continues his way down the aisle and realises whose voice is it.

Wooseok already feels sick to his stomach. But he had to find out why he was here. Realising that he was in the room, talking to somebody, he waits outside patiently. He hates that he’s eavesdropping, but the curiosity was burning him from within.

“It’s less than 15 days left, Seungyoun. I’d suggest you don’t strain yourself too much. I’m happy that you’re doing what you’ve always wanted to. But putting in your 100% is going to give you 120% of pain. Take it easy, okay? That’s the thing about cancer, it’ll just happen anytime as well.”

“Doctor Lee, would you want to come and watch the play?”

“Of course I would, Seungyoun. Just send me the details later, okay? And don’t forget to just keep taking your medication, you wouldn’t want to cut your time short of what it already is.” 

Seungyoun laughs, as if it was nothing. No big deal. He walks out, a smile on his face still. Until he sees the tears rolling down the cheeks of the only person he’d wish wasn’t standing before him.

“Wooseok... what are you doing here?” Seungyoun asks softly, and Wooseok bites his lips, with the tears still streaming down his face. He wants to punch Seungyoun so badly, kick him till he bleeds, but he also just wants to run into his arms and hug him so tight and never let go.

He opts for neither choices, but he takes a deep breath and manages to croak out with a shaky voice — “You lied to me this whole time.”

With that, he turns around and walks away, allowing his face to finally crumble as he buries his face in his hands. He takes off, even though he can hear Seungyoun calling out his name from behind, but the voice becomes gradually more and more inaudible.

When Wooseok is convinced that he’s in the comfort and security of his car, he allows himself to break down fully. He doesn’t even know why he was crying so much, was he hurt? Angry? He doesn’t know what was the dominant feeling in him, but as much as he hated Seungyoun for hiding such a piece of news from him, he hated  _ himself  _ for not seeing through it. Hell, Seungyoun was literally living  _ with  _ him, but he couldn’t even sense the slightest bit that something was off?

Wooseok’s hysterical cries are interrupted by a notification from his phone. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he sniffs. His co-star stares at him.

_ It’s okay to feel sorry for someone, even if they don’t deserve it. Even yourself.  _

⁂

-11, 1:57am

**loser leo**

where are you

_ seen _

wooseok come on

_ seen _

you’re going to see me either way

_ seen _

wooseok come on, i want to talk to you

i need to talk to you

**stupid scorpio**

bathroom

Wooseok slides his phone back into his jumper as he hears the footsteps coming closer to him. He brings his head to his knees as his arms wrap themselves around them. He rocks himself gently, looking down at nothing in particular.

“Hey,” he hears the shower curtain open and a giggle escape from Seungyoun.  _ He has the nerve to still laugh at me —  _

“Can I sit here?” Seungyoun asks, and Wooseok hesitates before nodding his head slowly, and Seungyoun climbs into the bathtub, sitting opposite Wooseok and getting into the same position as the latter.

They sit there in silence for awhile, and Wooseok doesn’t want his self-misery to prolong, so he breaks the silence first. He doesn’t even realise how sore his voice sounds (has he been crying that much?) when he says, “why didn’t you tell me?”

Seungyoun genuinely has to think for awhile. Was it because he didn’t want Wooseok to get hurt? He was going to be either way, right? Was he afraid that Wooseok was not going to not talk to him because he was stage four cancer-ridden?

Seungyoun doesn’t actually know why (he actually does, and he knows it), so he settles for a small “I’m sorry.”

“You know I like you, right?” Wooseok’s eyes begin to become glassy again. “Fuck, I literally  _ loved _ you since god knows when, Cho Seungyoun. I literally think of you every single day, when I try to date other people, my mind keeps running back to you. And here you are, probably not even realising that, and thinking that you being a fucking cancer patient isn’t a being deal —”

“ — you literally know how I feel about you, Wooseok,” Seungyoun cuts him off, this time the smile completely wiped from his face. “Why else do you think I kissed you till I feel like my lungs could give out on that day? Why else do you think I want to kiss you like that everytime I see your face?” He feels the tears streaming down his own face, and he looks down, unable to meet Wooseok’s eyes as he confesses.

“I didn’t want you to go through what you went through with your parents again, Wooseok.”

The silence that follows is heavy, and Wooseok wishes he hadn’t said anything at all. “I’m still going to through it anyway,” he tells Seungyoun, voice soft and fragile.

“Wooseok, I’m sorry. I was selfish,” Seungyoun whispers, his own voice cracking, “I just wanted to spend my last few days with the boy who owes my heart. Because that’s when… I feel the happiest.” He buries his head in his knees, letting the soft sobs escape from him. 

They’ve both been selfish, Wooseok realises. Wooseok thinking of only how much he’ll hurt even though his pain would be nothing in the face of Seungyoun’s, and and Seungyoun thinking that hiding from Wooseok wouldn’t hurt him, but it will eventually.

“Seungyoun, I’m sorry, too,” Wooseok says softly, before shifting himself closer to Seungyoun and placing his soft hands on Seungyoun’s arms. Seungyoun lifts his head to reveal his red and watery eyes, and to meet Wooseok’s similar ones, but holding so much love in them.

Wooseok cradles Seungyoun’s face in his hands, gently wiping his tears with his thumb. “Wooseok,” Seungyoun says, “can I kiss you again?” 

Wooseok smiles, he didn’t even have to think twice before doing it. “You’re such a loser Leo,” he says before pulling Seungyoun’s face closer to his and slotting their lips together. 

It was all too familiar for both of them. The taste of each other — despite being deeply coated and retched with alcohol ten years ago — was all the same. But this time, Seungyoun and Wooseok knew how to kiss. They both wanted to give each other the best kiss they couldn’t before.

Seungyoun slips his hands around Wooseok’s waist and lifts him up gently while extending his legs. He lays Wooseok gently on top of him, still kissing him gently but so passionately. 

Wooseok doesn’t want to let go. He doesn’t even realise how much he wanted to kiss Seungyoun all these years until he feels a small tear roll down his cheek and land on Seungyoun’s. Seungyoun opens his eyes slowly , letting the movement of their lips follow suit. 

“Hey, look at me,” Seungyoun whispers against their lips, and Wooseok flutters his eyes open, resulting in another tear to fall from his eye onto Seungyoun’s face. Seungyoun chuckles softly, “I’m still here, Wooseok. I’m not going anywhere.”

Wooseok’s face crumbles, and Seungyoun gently brings himself up to kiss Wooseok softly. Wrapping his arms around Wooseok’s waist, Seungyoun pulls himself up, resting Wooseok’s head on his shoulder. Placing a small kiss on his soft brown hair, Seungyoun gets up from the tub, Wooseok instinctively wrapping his legs around Seungyoun’s waist.

“You’re such a baby,” Seungyoun giggles, and Wooseok sniffs from behind. Seungyoun carries him to their room, gently laying Wooseok down on his bed. Seungyoun lowers himself from Wooseok’s face, gently lifting Wooseok’s shirt. 

“What are you doing?” Wooseok croaks out, and Seungyoun gently rubs his thumb around Wooseok’s tummy before pressing his lips onto it. He blows into it, and Wooseok immediately bursts into giggles. 

“Seungyoun!” Wooseok kicks his legs in protest, but Seungyoun doesn’t stop. He wants to hear Wooseok laugh like this forever. Hell, Seungyoun wants to hear this even when he’s in heaven and Wooseok is down below. 

He just wants Wooseok to himself forever.

Wooseok sits up, unable to take the tickles anymore. He jumps onto Seungyoun and wrestles his down, but obviously Seungyoun is too strong for his own good, and Seungyoun manages to carry Wooseok onto his shoulders, despite the position meaning that Wooseok’s scream was straight into Seungyoun’s eardrums.

“How are you so strong when you are supposed to be dying?” Wooseok pouts. Seungyoun turns and kisses Wooseok’s lips once more. Refusing to let go this time, Seungyoun gently places Wooseok onto his bed again, but this time, deepening the kiss with a purpose. 

“May I?” Seungyoun runs his hand through Wooseok’s hair as he parts their lips, and Wooseok nods, a playful smile spreading across his face. Seungyoun leans in once more takes off Wooseok’s glasses from his nose bridge, and presses his body onto the smaller boy’s harder.

The night proceeds to Seungyoun and Wooseok exploring each other of whatever they’ve desired for so long. It’s beautiful and lovely, just like how they pictured it be together, with each other.

Wooseok hears Seungyoun’s heartbeat against his ear. Thumping gently and steadily. Seungyoun rubs the mark he leaves on Wooseok which looks better than any of the stars he has gazed upon. “Wooseok,” Seungyoun says, and Wooseok hums in reply.

“I love you, stupid Scorpio,” it’s a small and simple declaration of love, but  _ god,  _ how long Wooseok has waited for this moment to come in his life. And so he says his response to it, just as he plans.

“I love you too, Cho Seungyoun.”

⁂

-5, 6:09pm

On the Friday of Romeo and Juliet’s theatre production night, Wooseok’s day was going according to plan thus far. 

The florist next to the theatre was called  _ Flowers for your Love,  _ and the woman behind the counter, wearing an apron if vintage ticking, looked like she’d had a long day. Her mascara was smudged beneath her eyelids and her hair seemed tired. Nevertheless, she managed to dredge up a smile for Wooseok.

“What can I get for you?” she asked. “I need one bouquet of sunflowers, please.” Wooseok had searched the previous night, ‘Leo horoscope favourite flower’ and had gotten the following result: 

**‘Flower** : Sunflower. Perhaps the only people more social and outgoing than Geminis are those born under the  **Leo** sign. With their happy demeanor bringing a smile to everyone's face they meet, it's only natural that their  **flower** is just as “sunny” as them!’ 

⁂

Squeezing his way into his designated seat in the middle of the first row of the dress circle, with his name clearly written as ‘KIM WOOSEOK, REPORTER FOR THE SEOUL STAR’. Wooseok giggles lightly as he notices the small heart at the side of his name, knowing already of its origin.

As soon as the lights dimmed and the curtains parted, Wooseok could see that this was not going to be a standard  _ Romeo and Juliet.  _ Each other characters wore the same basic costume — a simple long-sleeved black top and three-quarter-length black pants — although the identity of some characters were quickly signalled by headdresses of white or grey. But while the costumes were minimal, the make-up was intense — every actor’s face had been artfully painted to accentuate the mouth and the eyes.

And then there he was — the protagonist. No longer Cho Seungyoun, but Romeo Montague. From the start, he portrayed his attraction as soft, sweet and deep, and the poetry of his lines played its proper second fiddle to the emotion. 

Perhaps the most extraordinary thing about the performance was that Seungyoun, alongside the other characters, was that, together, they almost made Wooseok believe that a happy ending was possible.

In the tomb, the director toyed with the audience, choosing for Juliet to wake up to just a moment after romeo downed his poison, giving them just enough time for one passionate, living kiss before the poison took effect. Tears squeezed out of the corners of Wooseok’s eyes. He could hardly sallow, his throat was so sore from the effort of not weeping.

“Thus with a kiss I die,” Romeo said, and then Wooseok did cry, hopelessly. Enough to make the person next to Wooseok shift uncomfortably in his seat and hand over some tissues to him without a word.

And with the play’s final lines : ‘For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.’, the first person up from their seat was undeniably was Wooseok. The cheers and applause all drowned away when Seungyoun turns to teary-eyed Wooseok after the actors take their bows.

And then it happens again. Everything moves in slow motion. Seungyoun isn’t smiling even though Wooseok is smiling and cheering for him. Seungyoun’s blinking slows down, before they come to a halt upon being closed and his legs give in. 

Wooseok’s eyes widen, and so does everyone else’s in the audience. “Seungyoun!” Wooseok screams at the top of his lungs before he doesn’t even think twice before running up on stage and holding Seungyoun in his arms, yelling at him to wake up. The tears were coming down again, but for a completely different reason. 

“Seungyoun, you can’t leave me, not right now,” Wooseok weeps, and Seungyoun manages to take in a small intake of breath, with his eyes barely opening. “I love you, Scorpio,” he mumbles, and Wooseok leans in and presses their lips together. Wooseok can hear the audience gasp, but he doesn’t care anymore. He wasn’t going to let Seungyoun die like this. He  _ couldn’t.  _

The curtains close, and the medics on standby come to the stage, alongside Seungyoun’s doctor, who promised to come for the play as well. Wooseok insists he comes with them to the hospital, and after a heated verbal exchange, they comply. 

At that moment, both Wooseok and Seungyoun’s co-stars light up, without them even knowing. But the stars — they know.

_ Leo, thus with a kiss I die.  _

_ Scorpio, thus with a kiss they die. _

⁂

Cho Seungyoun dies before they even reach the hospital.

He had three days. In three days, Wooseok and Seungyoun could have gone to the park, gone to the zoo, gone stargazing. But that’s just how life works. It doesn’t give you time to process anything, and time mercilessly waits for nobody.

Hands still interconnected, Wooseok hears the familiar ringing of the flatlining of the heart monitor and wishes he could just scream. He wants to block out everything at that moment. 

But at that second, all Wooseok could do was sob. Sob for the loss of his best friend — his best friend he had so hopelessly in love with this entire time. But a part of him is glad that fate at least gave some leeway for him and his best friend to love each other with the limited time they had. 

If only they had more.

⁂

“I hope you like it, loser Leo,” Wooseok manages to smile despite the tear rolling down his cheek. 

Wooseok lays the sunflowers meant for the day of the play on Seungyoun’s grave. And on top of it was the article that Wooseok had critiqued on behalf of  _ The Seoul Star  _ for the production of  _ Romeo and Juliet.  _

_ ‘A tragic love story, as told by as One of similar circumstances as well’,  _ reads the article’s title. Wooseok critiques it perfectly, and he chuckles at Seungyoun probably smiling at the last few lines of the article.

_ ‘Romeo was played by Cho Seungyoun, a budding Leo who had a whole life ahead of him cut short. I had the privilege of loving him, and will assure you that despite Seungyoun doing Romeo full justice, Romeo does not even come close to Seungyoun. You will always be the loser Leo to my stupid Scorpio, and the brightest Regulus in the Leo constellation. _

_ With love that surpasses any star out there,  _

_ Written by Kim Wooseok _

_ The Seoul Star _

⁂

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> leave me a kudos and nice comments if you enjoyed this pleeease,, im a sucker for nice words :((  
> also im @younult on twt follow me for somemore seungseok gay


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